


Onto

by PartridgeOnAPearTree



Series: Transversal [18]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe, I didn't put it under Transversal earlier cries, I hope you guys see this, I think I hecked up posting this the first time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:19:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6168805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartridgeOnAPearTree/pseuds/PartridgeOnAPearTree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naegi gets the feeling that he has to get used to how that bear looks like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Onto

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, look! My friend drew Transversal stuff for me, ahh! Just thought I should show you guys :3 (http://partridgeonapeartree.tumblr.com/post/139286173407/from-chapter-12-of-transversal-by-weepingweeb and http://partridgeonapeartree.tumblr.com/post/139285974592/art-by-weepingweeb-based-on-transversal-series)

“Are you sure this will work?” Naegi says as soon as Hinata disappears into the office, and he feels someone walking towards him and stopping on the space beside him. He didn’t need to look to know that it’s Enoshima—he didn’t even need to think to know that Enoshima is here—and he was proven right when he hears her voice.

 

“My, I'm offended!” She lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Spending lots and lots of hours planning, choosing the most effective way for this to happen, scouring for information about this whole deal, and I’d get asked if I'm sure it will work? Ahh, the despair! I had no idea that you can be this hurtful, Naegi-kun!”

 

“Sorry, I'm just making sure.” He apologetically smiles at her. “I didn’t mean to doubt your abilities, Enoshima-san.”

 

“Ehe, it’s okay! I love it when Naegi-kun apologizes!” He feels the familiar sensation of a pinch on his cheek. “You know, you aren’t entirely wrong about asking though.”

 

He takes her hand away from his face as gently as he can. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“Ehh!? Is Naegi-kun really asking me such a simple question!?” She covers her mouth. “Aww, and here I was—I was _this_ close to thinking that you are a genius, you know! But if you find the need to ask a despair-inducingly simple question, then I might be mistaken!”

 

“Sorry for disappointing you.” Naegi forces a chuckle. “Can’t you just tell me? Since obviously, I'm not a genius like you.”

 

“Hey, I was just kidding! Is Naegi-kun upset? Is Naegi-kun upset!?” Enoshima peers closer to him, as if inspecting his facial expression from all angles. “Okay, okay, as an apology, I’ll tell you! Make sure to listen as carefully as you can, okay?”

 

“You have my attention, Enoshima-san.”

 

“Ahh, if Naegi-kun says it that way, I really will never be able to refuse…” She sighs, frowning and fumbling with her fingers. “I'm so scared… Naegi-kun is so despairingly cute I can feel myself getting wet down there…”

 

“…”

 

“I’ll start talking now…” She sighs again. “You know how Hinata-kun has that tendency to think that he's not good enough for Komaeda-kun, right…?”

 

“What about it?”

 

“Think about it.” She stands straight, putting a hand on her waist. “What he knows right now is that it’s Komaeda Nagito who owns that pen we lent him. That tendency he has in mind—is it not likely for him to change his mind halfway and settle for not using the pen in thoughts of not being sufficiently worthy to use it?”

 

“I thought of that too, of course, Enoshima-san. That’s why I told him that Komaeda-kun would have wanted him to use it for an important matter such as this.” Naegi replies. “I do acknowledge that he has that tendency, but I don’t think he’ll prioritize that thought over the thought that Komaeda-kun would have wished for him to use it.”

 

“Indeed. But that is not all.” She props up an imaginary pair of glasses. “Suppose he does use the pen—we do not know certainly if he is the kind to write firmly or not. If he is, his markings will leave dents on the paper even if the ink vanishes, and while that would be suspicious for the staff, he still could with no trouble show that he did answer the queries.”

 

“I used the pen myself when you gave it to me. The ink feels smooth, almost too much, even. It’s that kind of pen that you won’t have to press firmly for it to work.” Naegi remembers quite clearly. That’s why he even felt like writing a lot that time. “I myself experienced it firsthand. I wrote everything I wanted to write on a piece of paper, and when I looked at it after—Kuwata-kun can agree with me too, he was there—the paper was as good as unused... leaving no clues at all.”

 

“Haha, you're fucking impressive!” She looked like she was about to give Naegi a noogie, so he moves a bit backwards. “Okay, okay, really goddamn great! So let’s say he used it and didn’t leave some dang marks… we still won’t know for fucking sure, like damn, if Hope’s Peak’s staff won’t check it within eight hours! Dang, don’t forget—that fucking ink only lasts for eight hours, and after that, it’s bye-bye! But what if they damn see it before that, huh!?”

 

“And I thought of that too.” Naegi says. “Tell me honestly, Enoshima-san. Is there something we can do about that?”

 

“Nah, the researchers right now are too fucking many—twenty, I heard—and even if we use our whole damn class as a distraction, there still will be someone left to check it if they really plan to check it within that time!” She proclaims. “’Sides, I'm pretty dang sure you won’t want to use every-fucking-one yet! We’re gonna get into some damn trouble, and it’s too early for that… That’s what you'll say, amirite?”

 

“You really get me.” Naegi lets out a chuckle. “You're right about everything you said. And it’s not like we can hold all twenty of them for eight hours without being suspicious about it.”

 

“So,” She crosses her arms. “What do you plan to do about it?”

 

“Relax, Enoshima-san.” He smiles. “That’s what we have Komaeda-kun for, right? For matters that we can’t control… we’ll have no choice but to rely on luck.”

 

“And I never said how despair-inducingly stupid I find that concept is, right?” She rolls her eyes. “How can his luck affect a situation that doesn’t even involve him?”

 

Naegi actually smiles at that. “Who says he's not involved?”

 

\--

 

“Since we already talked about it recently…” Naegi brings up. He was leaning his back against Komaeda’s as he speaks, and he hears the latter letting out a curious hum as a response. “…Well, I was just thinking if it would be okay if Komaeda-kun goes to meet my parents and Komaru already this weekend.”

 

“Oh…” Naegi can’t see Komaeda’s current expression, but he can imagine. “Is that really okay?”

 

“Of course it is.” Naegi lets out a chuckle. “Right, I actually talked to my parents about you already. I even sent them some of your pictures! Sorry I hadn’t asked you first if doing that is okay, but… haha, it just kind of happened while I was telling them about you. Both of them really like you already, especially my mom.”

 

“S-Seriously?” Naegi changes their position so that Komaeda would be leaning his head on Naegi’s lap. As Naegi expected, Komaeda had a light dust of pink on his face, and he looked pretty surprised as he continued speaking. “I'm seriously flattered… I was really scared that I’d disappoint them, see. So knowing that they… approve of me, at least… makes me really happy.”

 

“There's no reason for them to not approve of you, Komaeda-kun. And I'm sure they'd love you even more when you guys actually meet.”

 

“You really think so, Naegi-kun?”

 

“Of course.” Naegi promptly dips down and pecks him on the lips. “You're, by far, the loveliest person that I have ever met, after all.”

 

“Alright, I’ll do my best.” Komaeda smiles a bit despite the still apparent color on his cheeks. “Even if this sounds selfish… of course I’d want them to like me too.”

 

“That’s not a bad thing, you know.” He giggles. “But before that, there's something that has to happen first.”

 

“Something?” Komaeda repeats, curious. “What do you mean, Naegi-kun?”

 

“Well, see… There's something that I want to happen today… or rather, it’s actually more accurate to say that there's something that I _don’t_ want to happen today.” Naegi smiles. “If it doesn’t happen, then we’ll surely go this weekend to meet my parents… Sounds good?”

 

“Oh, of course…” Komaeda slowly nods. “May I ask what that is though? That thing that Naegi-kun doesn’t want to happen today?”

 

“Well, about that…” Naegi chuckles. “It’s a secret for now, Komaeda-kun. Think of it as a surprise or something, maybe?”

 

“Oh, alright.” Komaeda smiles. “Well, whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t happen… haha, sorry for being so eager, but I really want to meet them, after all! I mean, I'm still scared that I’d be disappointing, but it wouldn’t do me well if I just don’t do anything about it, right…? Besides, I plan to do my best anyway, so I hope that has a bearing at least…”

 

“Don’t apologize.” Naegi ruffles his hair. “It’s okay to wish for that… and I'm confident that they'd love you even if you don’t try, you know.”

 

“Haha, I sure do hope so!”

 

As the two of them talk more after that, all Naegi really is thinking about is how the next step is to just wait and see how effective Komaeda’s luck actually is.

 

\--

 

“How about, instead of relying on luck, we actually do something concrete?” Enoshima leans her chin on her palm, her elbow resting on the desk beside Naegi’s. The one should be rightfully sitting on that chair is Maizono, but she's busy talking to Kuwata at the moment. “How disappointing, really… I thought you were the type who won’t like blindly trusting something as uncertain as luck.”

 

“Haha, cut me some slack, Enoshima-san. We aren’t just talking about ‘mere luck’ here, you know. Don’t you trust Komaeda-kun’s Super High School Level Good Luck?”

 

“Sorry, but,” She rolls her eyes. “I can’t bring myself to trust something that sounds so much like a joke.”

 

“At least this way we’ll know if he's really worth keeping around, right? What if when we’re already further into our plan, that’s when we find out that Komaeda-kun’s luck is nothing but a phony? That would be worse, wouldn’t it?”

 

“Well, now that I think about it,” She hums. “I guess that would give us greater despair.”

 

Before Naegi was able to deliver his reply, he sees Fujisaki approaching the two of them, and he promptly turns to him with a small smile. Fujisaki immediately smiles back, even giving a light wave at them, and they wait for him to approach.

 

“Um, sorry to interrupt the both of you…” Fujisaki fumbles with his fingers the moment he reaches them. “If you guys are talking about something important, then I can go back later…”

 

“No, no, it’s okay, honey.” Enoshima smiles at him, twirling a part of her hair with a finger. “You need Naegi-kun? You need me? You need the both of us? Just go on ahead!”

 

“Ah, alright, I was scared that I’d bother you guys…” Fujisaki smiles, sighing in relief. “I was just wondering if I can invite you guys after school… The thing that I wanted to build for you guys… with the help of Souda-kun, it’s finally done. And I wanted the both of you to be the first ones to see it.”

 

“Wow, that’s really impressive, Fujisaki-san.” Naegi smiles, slowly nodding. “I'm really happy to hear this news! See, I'm looking forward to seeing your creation, and I'm also pleased about the fact that you will be able to rest more from now on since it’s finally done… I'm really sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

 

“No, no, I'm really happy too!” Fujisaki waves his hands in front of himself. “It’s my first time to have to collaborate with someone, and it’s a good experience for me. If anything, I should be thanking you guys for providing me that idea…”

 

“No worries!” Enoshima grins, flashing a thumbs-up. “Naegi-kun and I will go with you later for sure!”

 

Fujisaki bows, muttering another soft word of ‘thanks’, before walking away. As soon as he leaves, Naegi feels Enoshima’s breath on his ear.

 

“Things are beginning to get interesting, aren’t they?”

 

\--

 

“Damn it, where did she go!?” Naegi hears the Super High School Level Yakuza, Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko (Naegi knows his name because Hagakure once mentioned him while talking about one of his adventures with the yakuza), exclaim when he nears Komaeda’s classroom.

 

The usual setting is Naegi going to fetch Komaeda from his classroom so that they can eat lunch together. Things are generally smooth and quiet—Naegi will just exchange greetings with some of Komaeda’s classmates, and the both of them will go to the cafeteria to buy food then proceed to the rooftop.

 

Right now though, everyone seems to be in a panic for some reason. Accompanying Kuzuryuu’s rather displeased question were different agitated noises from Komaeda’s other classmates. The chef—Hanamura, Naegi guesses, though he isn’t really sure—was screaming, his usually composed and suave self gone, and he had both of his hands on his head.

 

“I-I don’t know! Guys, calm down!” There was the voice of the photographer who's obviously trying her best to stay composed, but her expression betrays that effort. She looks distressed herself, and probably her trying to keep it together is just tiring her out even more. “I think she went downstairs!”

 

“That’s fucking helpful!” Kuzuryuu snarls. “Of course she went downstairs! We’re in the highest floor, for God’s sake!”

 

“Don’t talk to me that way! I swear you men are just—” The photographer shrieks in frustration. “And there's the rooftop too, you know! For all we know, she went there!”

 

“Young master,” The swordswoman says. Her voice was still calm unlike her classmates’. “I’ll be going down to look for her.”

 

Kuzuryuu nods at her, and she descends the stairs afterwards. Naegi watches everything curiously, and he speaks after, although a bit softly compared to everyone’s voices. “Um, guys?” He wonders if he's going to be heard. “What's going on? Can I do anything to help?”

 

Both Kuzuryuu and the photographer turn to him, as if only noticing that there was someone else around that isn’t their classmate, and Naegi shortly hears a loud high-pitched cry. “Waaahh! Everyone’s so noisy! Make them stop, Koizumi-onee!”

 

The photographer, who Naegi guesses is Koizumi, immediately heads towards a small girl. Guessing from her attire, Naegi concludes that she must be the classical dancer. Kuzuryuu looks like he's forcing himself to calm down even for at least a second before responding, so Naegi shows him a small smile to show that he's here to help, at least.

 

“Komaeda’s not here.” That’s what Kuzuryuu says after a while. “He's in the infirmary with Tsumiki.”

 

“Oh…” Naegi slowly nods. “Is there anything I can do to help though? Why does everybody seem so upset?”

 

“Nah, we got it!” Kuzuryuu waves a hand. “Just go to Komaeda and ask him to explain for you. He's one of the best people to ask.”

 

“Oh, alright…”

 

“But wait! If you see Mioda though—Mioda Ibuki, the Super High School Level Light Music Club Member, the one with the weird hair colors—scream as loudly as you can and give her to Peko!”

 

Naegi wanted to ask who Peko is, but he just makes a guess and hopes that she's the swordswoman. “Okay, but what did Mioda-san do?”

 

“Just—” Kuzuryuu scratches his head. “Just do it, okay? And have Komaeda explain for you! Infirmary!”

 

Kuzuryuu rushes downstairs too, so Naegi just blinks in confusion, the infirmary as destination in mind.

 

\--

 

Naegi reaches the infirmary without encountering Mioda. He sees the school doctor in his usual spot at his desk, sifting through some papers like he always does. Just like Kuzuryuu mentioned earlier, Naegi sees Tsumiki standing near one of the beds, and her face lights up when they make eye contact.

 

“N-Naegi-san…” She started fumbling with her fingers. “I-I assume you already h-heard what happened… I-I'm sorry… A-As the n-nurse of the class, I-I should have been good enough to prevent this…”

 

“…Huh?” Naegi furrows his eyebrows. “Did… something bad happen to Komaeda-kun?”

 

“U-Um,” She immediately looks panicked. “I-It’s nothing g-grave, at least… b-but it’s not a good thing, either… I'm sorry…”

 

“Sorry, I, uh,” Naegi sheepishly smiles. “I don’t really know what happened yet… I’d appreciate it if you tell me… Where's Komaeda-kun?”

 

“Oh… S-Sorry I assumed… b-because you're already here… P-Please forgive me!”

 

“Don’t worry, it’s alright…” Naegi waves his hands in front of him. “Um, where _is_ Komaeda-kun though?”

 

“A-Ah, I'm sorry for not answering that r-right away!” She bows repeatedly. With what she's doing though, Naegi wonders if she realizes that she's just delaying even more. “H-He's in the bathroom o-over there…”

 

Tsumiki points to the bathroom inside the infirmary. Naegi doesn’t usually go here, but he knows that there's one. “What is he doing there? Is he okay?”

 

She bites her lower lip. “W-Well, nothing too bad will happen to him…”

 

“Nothing too bad? What happened anyway?”

 

“U-Um…” She fumbles with her fingers. “H-He… drank a pitcher of milk… t-then tea… then m-milk again…”

 

“…What?”

 

“S-Sorry… H-He drank a pitcher of milk… then tea… then milk again…”

 

“Y-Yeah… I heard you the first time, but… why?”

 

“O-Oh, I-I'm so sorry, I misunderstood your question…” She bites her lower lip, and she looks like she's about to cry. “I-I heard Mioda-san was trying out s-something… and it involves this… I-I don’t know everything though so it’s b-better to ask Komaeda-san once he goes out of the bathroom…”

 

Naegi’s really curious now. Earlier, Komaeda’s classmates mentioned something about Mioda too. They seem to be looking for her from what Naegi could tell, to the point that Kuzuryuu even asked him to scream and give her to the swordswoman.

 

“It’s okay, Tsumiki-san. Don’t beat yourself up too much. You're helping out really greatly, you know?” Naegi smiles. “Anyway, I’ll just check on Komaeda-kun, okay?”

 

“A-Alright…” Tsumiki bites her lower lip, though she obviously tries to show Naegi a small hesitant smile, at least. “T-Thank you, Naegi-san…”

 

Naegi lightly bows before making his way to the bathroom that they were talking about. He already knew that Komaeda was stupid, but he didn’t know that the latter would go as far as to drink tea, then milk, then tea again.

 

He reaches the outside of the door. He has never really approached that door because he didn’t have a reason to. It’s just a usual white and clean door with no intricate designs that if Naegi allows himself to be distracted, it would look like a cabinet door from afar.

 

He gently knocks on the door twice, accompanying the gesture with a soft call of Komaeda’s name.

 

“…Naegi-kun?” Komaeda’s hesitant voice immediately follows. The sound was muffled, but Naegi can still clearly understand him anyway. “I'm so sorry… this is so embarrassing. You should probably hang out with someone else today…”

 

“No, it’s alright… Why are you apologizing?” Naegi replies. “Can you tell me what happened? Or if you don’t want to talk right now, I’ll just wait for you here outside.”

 

“No, no, I don’t really know when exactly I’ll go out…” Naegi hears a muffled sound that probably is sheepish laughter. “Really, this is so embarrassing… It’s such bad luck. Not only does my stomach hurt so much right now, but there's also the fact that you have to be here to witness my stupidity… I'm saddened too that I won’t be able to hang out with Naegi-kun today just because something like this has happened. I'm really sorry, Naegi-kun. I'm so sorry.”

 

“No, no, as I said, why are you even apologizing? You have nothing to apologize for, okay?” Naegi smiles because smiles can be heard through voices. “But will you tell me what happened?”

 

“Ah, right, sorry for talking so much!” Komaeda sheepishly chuckles again. “Well, I should do my best to keep this simple so that I won’t have to keep you in here for too long… The day after the Day of Hope, see, Mioda-san and I were talking about something. I must have looked unnecessarily nervous or upset at one point because she commented that I looked like I drank milk, then tea, then milk again. She said that after commenting that way, she realized that she wanted to see what would really happen if someone does that… She mentioned that it can possibly be a good song too, so I thought, since I'm lucky, nothing too bad will happen, probably. And even if something bad indeed will happen, then that’s just more the reason for me to volunteer! I mean, our classmates shouldn’t have to endure anything… There's also the fact that she thought that it can possibly be a good song, so who am I to hinder her from exhibiting her talent, right? So I decided to go and test out her experiment… and it turns out that today, I wasn’t as lucky as I thought…”

 

“Bad luck…” Naegi repeats. Even with the length of what Komaeda said, that’s all that’s stuck in Naegi’s mind. “Komaeda-kun… this means that good luck will follow afterwards, right?”

 

“Huh? Well, hopefully… There's also the chance that this whole deal isn’t over yet and more bad luck can follow before the actual good luck, but yes. I'm sure this will ultimately boil down to good luck…” Komaeda pauses for a while. “Why do you ask, Naegi-kun?”

 

“Nothing.” Naegi lets out a chuckle himself. “I just thought that after experiencing something like this, it would be good if something really nice happens to you… Anyway, your classmates seem to be fussing about Mioda-san. Kuzuryuu-kun even instructed me to scream when I see her. Is there a particular reason why?”

 

“Ah, haha, I'm not really sure… I guess it’s because after she had me drink some of the milk and tea that she has, she wanted someone else to try. We all know that I'm pretty sickly, see, so I told her it would be better if she also has someone else to drink some. Someone healthier… just in case my health would affect the experiment’s outcome.” Komaeda chuckles again. “I think it was Kuzuryuu-kun whom she picked. He really hated milk with a passion, see, so I don’t think she succeeded in convincing him. Maybe they're trying to keep her from having someone else try? It really wouldn’t be good, after all, if it turns out that my body’s reaction is not just because I'm not exactly the healthiest person… It wouldn’t be good if someone else who tries also would have to go through this…”

 

“Right, I agree…” Naegi slowly nods. “Do you have any idea where she headed?”

 

“Well, I have a good guess…” Komaeda pauses again for so long that Naegi briefly contemplated that he only imagined this whole conversation and Komaeda isn’t really behind the door. “If something really troublesome happens, I think it would be my fault…”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, I kept on calling what she was doing an ‘experiment’… When I repeated it enough times, her face suddenly lit up, and she said something about how she plans to talk to the people who are actually knowledgeable about experiments and have them participate in hers… After all, those people probably would encourage a student’s interest in gathering data, and I even told her that they probably wouldn’t refuse her request…”

 

“…Are you saying that she could have gone to the faculty rooms?”

 

“That’s what I think, yes.”

 

As if on cue, his phone vibrates continuously in his pocket. He takes it out, and the moment he sees the messages, his heart pleasantly skips a beat.

 

**Sender: Enoshima Junko**

**Message:** Hey, Naegi-kun. There's only less than an hour left before the test ends. Do you have any idea what's happening right now at this instant?

 

**Sender: Enoshima Junko**

**Message:** Head researcher is stupid and encourages ‘students’ quest for knowledge’. Head researcher is stupid and willingly drank a combination of fluids that will possibly have a laxative effect and even instructed his subordinates to do the same. Head researcher is stupid and said that those who don’t drink the fluids will be dismissed for insubordination. How despair-inducing, am I right?

 

**Sender: Enoshima Junko**

**Message:** You're smart, so I assume you already understand what I'm getting to. If you don’t though, I’ll be so disappointed!

 

**Sender: Enoshima Junko**

**Message:** Haha, poor Matsuda-kun! Even he wasn’t exempted! At this rate, no one will be left in the office to do anything once the laxative effect kicks in!

 

**Sender: Enoshima Junko**

**Message:** Of course, of course, every single person’s body can possibly react differently to that stimulus… but what do you think? Are you feeling lucky, Naegi-kun? :-)

 

“Naegi-kun…?” Komaeda’s voice snaps Naegi’s attention away from the messages in his phone. “Are you still there?”

 

“Ah, right, yes, sorry, Komaeda-kun.” Naegi returns his phone to his pocket. “I'm really saddened too that this had to happen to you…”

 

He smiles as he continues speaking. “Don’t worry though. I'm starting to  think that we can really go to my house this weekend, after all.”

 

“Ah, really?” He can imagine Komaeda perking up. “That’s good to hear…”

 

His phone vibrates again, and he takes it out another time.

 

**Sender: Enoshima Junko**

**Message:** I forwarded this from Matsuda-kun. Fresh news! Live!

<The researchers were all given the day off. This is all so stupid, but at least I'm allowed to ditch today too. I didn’t really drink much of the thing though.>

<They're saying something about how this sacrifice is worth it because they helped a student become more knowledgeable about something.>

<They're now leaving a note for Hinata.>

<’Hinata-kun, just leave your paper on the desk in the middle of the room and place any paperweight on it. An emergency has come up, and we all have to go. We apologize for the inconvenience, but rest assured that we already would have your paper checked by tomorrow afternoon.’>

 

“Komaeda-kun,” Naegi doesn’t stop the smile from showing on his face. “I really love you.”

 

“…H-Huh?” Komaeda probably looks so embarrassed at the moment. “I love you too, of course, but… where did this come from all of a sudden…?”

 

“Nothing.” Naegi giggles. “See you tomorrow, alright? I have something to do later, so I couldn’t meet with you after school… but don’t worry, I’ll make sure to make it up to you.”

 

“You don’t have to, you know… but thank you, Naegi-kun! See you tomorrow!”

 

\--

 

One hour after the test.

 

“Why are you even sitting here, Enoshima-san?” Naegi makes sure to smile to keep up his respectful demeanor. “Isn't this supposed to be Maizono-san’s seat?”

 

“Ehh, my usual seat is beside Asahina-san and in front of Kirigiri-san, so she agreed to switch.” Enoshima leans her cheek against her palm. “I don’t know why Ishimaru-kun is not saying anything when he's sitting so near to Maizono-san who's obviously not supposed to be right there, hm.”

 

“I'm pretty sure it won’t be long before he notices.”

 

“Right, look at him.” She lifts her eyebrows. “I think he's looking for a way to call us out without interrupting the teacher’s discussion.”

 

“If it’s Ishimaru-kun then I can totally see that…”

 

“So before he thinks of a way, I'm going to tell you this.” She faces him, her cheek still against her hand. “Listen carefully, hm?”

 

“I'm all ears, Enoshima-san.”

 

“Mathematics, Language, Reading, Science, General Information, and Logic—those are the subtests that Hinata-kun answered earlier. In order.” She hums. “All of them last for an hour except Math and Logic which last for one hour and thirty minutes. Just thought you'd find that information useful.”

 

“Thank you, Enoshima-san.” Naegi nods. “I'm sure it wouldn’t hurt knowing about that.”

 

As soon as he said that, Ishimaru shushes them and motions Enoshima to transfer back to her seat. She gives Naegi a prompt wave, and he does nothing but wordlessly nod.

 

\--

 

Three hours after the test. Ideally, all of Hinata’s answers for the Math and Language subtests would be gone.

 

Naegi feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he takes it out as soon as it does.

 

**Sender: Komaeda Nagito**

**Message:** Have fun with what you're going to do this afternoon, Naegi-kun! I'm really sorry that I wasn’t able to accompany you earlier during lunch time… I’ll make sure to do my best this weekend so that I won’t be an embarrassment to your family!

 

‘ _Don’t push yourself too hard, Komaeda-kun._ ’ Naegi types his reply. ‘ _I just hope you get better soon. :)_ ’

 

Komaeda’s response arrives almost as soon as he sends his. ‘ _Thank you so much. See you tomorrow!_ ’

 

Naegi returns his phone to his pocket and smiles at Enoshima who was beside him.

 

“We shouldn’t keep Fujisaki-san waiting.”

 

She smiles back. “Right.”

 

\--

 

“Ah, I'm so glad that you guys were able to make it…” Fujisaki sits as he places two cups of tea in front of the two of them. “Um, Naegi-kun… Komaeda-kun can’t be here today?”

 

“Ah, yes, some trouble happened earlier, but don’t worry, he's fine.” Naegi smiles, nodding. “I'm sure he would have loved to see your creation firsthand too though.”

 

“Right… I wanted to thank him because he was the one who introduced me to Souda-kun… I couldn’t have done this myself, after all…” Fujisaki smiles a bit. “Anyway, please wait here, Naegi-kun, Enoshima-san. I’ll show it to you.”

 

“Sure, we’ll wait!” Enoshima says after sipping some tea. “You don’t have to rush, you know, honey.”

 

“I guess I got a little too excited…” Fujisaki smiles again, although he looked a little embarrassed. “Wait here, okay?”

 

“We’ll just be here.” As he exits the room, Enoshima turns to Naegi quite quickly. “He's really hardworking. It’s almost refreshing, really.”

 

“I agree.” Naegi nods. “Fujisaki-san is admirable.”

 

“We should have just used that bear to wreck the faculty room, you know.” She rolls her eyes. “Better than relying on luck.”

 

“But it worked, right?” He chuckles. “Don’t be so mean to Komaeda-kun’s talent now.”

 

“Hah, it’s not even a talent, but you're right. I shouldn’t be mean to your—what did you call it again—lucky charm, huh? I was never a fan of lucky charms, but oh, well.”

 

“I wasn’t too, but Komaeda-kun’s pretty effective. Even you can’t deny that, Enoshima-san.”

 

“I have nothing to say against that for now.”

 

“I don’t want you to have anything to say against it ever.”

 

She raises her eyebrows, amused. “Aww, I was just kidding, Naegi-kun. Don’t be so upset now.”

 

“I'm not upset.” He forces a chuckle. “Anyway, I'm really excited to see what Fujisaki-san made. Knowing him, I'm pretty sure it was even more amazing than before.”

 

“Ah, hello?” Naegi hears a clear voice. He could have entertained the thought that it was Enoshima if not for the fact that it sounded completely different from hers. The two of them turn to the door that Fujisaki used to exit earlier, and like they expected, there was the bear that they already met before. “Hello… Can you hear me? Naegi-kun? Enoshima-san?”

 

The voice of the bear was clearer than it was back then. Previously, the way it sounded makes it so obvious that it came from something else, accompanied by the occasional cracking of the voice, but now it was like another person was indeed in the room with them.

 

“Aww, I can’t believe it!” Enoshima was practically leaning to the bear. “Fujisaki-san, you're sooooo cool! It’s even cuter than before!”

 

“Ahh, thank you…” The bear lifts one of its paws, lightly covering its mouth. “I'm happy you liked it…”

 

Naegi could only stare. With the way it moved, he's starting to think that the bear can trick people into thinking that it’s actually moving on its own accord. The bear turns to Naegi, its paw leaving its mouth. “How about you, Naegi-kun? I'm sorry… Did I do anything unsatisfactory about it?”

 

“…Ah?” Naegi blinks. “No, no, not at all! I was just at a loss of words. I think you did a really great job, Fujisaki-san!”

 

The bear places both of its paws on its tummy, and its shoulders (should they be called shoulders?) moves slightly, as if it sighed in relief. “I'm happy... I made this for you guys, after all. Anyway, Enoshima-san, this is the feature you requested.”

 

“Oh, oh? Can you make it extend its body now?” Enoshima looked even more eager. Naegi didn’t know that was still possible. “I wanna see!”

 

Naegi feels his eyes widening when the bear does extend itself as soon as Enoshima said that. It was almost comical—the way it looked—and Naegi realizes that he really doesn’t know much about machines to even begin comprehending how this was even possible. Its head was mere inches away from touching the ceiling, and its body doubled—no, tripled, quadrupled—in size, vertically speaking.

 

He stared at the littlest details of the bear to understand a bit, or at least tried to, because before he knew it, the bear was already back to its original size. The change happened so fast that Naegi could easily dismiss it as a mere product of his imagination, but Enoshima’s pleased expression was enough to tell him that it was all real.

 

The bear tilts its head. “How was it?”

 

“It’s awesome!” Enoshima exclaims, reaching forward to embrace the bear. The way this entire setting looks so normal almost made Naegi feel sick. “Awww, you're so great, Fujisaki-san! I can’t believe that someone actually brought Monokuma to life! Hm, hm, I'm pleased!”

 

“Ahh, thank you so much, Enoshima-san…” The bear’s paws slightly lift, seemingly as an effort to reciprocate the embrace. Of course its arms were too short to effectively do that though. “I'm really happy… so Monokuma is his name, huh?”

 

“Right, right!” She pulls away. “How about we eat ice cream some time? Or does Fujisaki-san not like ice cream?”

 

“Ah, ice cream is good…”

 

“Great! But anyway,” Enoshima smiles. Despite being a smile that others would probably find pretty, it still reeks of… something wrong somehow. “May I borrow the blueprints you used for this?”

 

“Ah, of course…” The bear does a nodding motion. “I’ll give it to you right away, Enoshima-san… but what do you need them for?”

 

“Hehe, nothing big!” She grins, putting her hands on her waist. “I know someone who can mass-produce them, so that’s that! Don’t worry though, we’ll be sure to credit you and that mechanic you worked with!”

 

“U-Um… Mass-produce…”

 

“Don’t sweat the details! Anyway,” The sweet smile was back. “You’ve helped us so much, Fujisaki-san. You’ve made me really happy! I'm sure Naegi-kun too!”

 

“Right.” Naegi nods upon the mention of his name. He only realizes that he has been too quiet. “I get the feeling that I’ll be needing this very much… so I'm really thankful, Fujisaki-san. You’ve worked so hard… You deserve to rest.”

 

“Thank you…” Even if it’s just the bear and not Fujisaki who's actually in front of them, Naegi can imagine his probable small smile at the moment. “You guys are always encouraging me… it’s the least I could do.”

 

“Anyway, I think Enoshima-san and I should leave now so that you can rest early.” Naegi takes one last peek at his teacup. “I'm really happy with what you did for us… but for now, I’ll have you hold on to him, okay?”

 

“I’ll take good care of him.” The bear nods. “See you tomorrow, Naegi-kun, Enoshima-san.”

 

Naegi gets the feeling that he has to get used to how that bear looks like.

 

\--

 

**Sender: Hinata Hajime**

**Message:** Hey, Naegi. I just thought I should text you. I mean, you have been so supportive of me (I keep on repeating this, sorry for being too repetitive, but it’s just really true), so I thought I should tell you this, at least.

I'm just relaxing right now because I don’t have to think of the test anymore. The researchers said some trouble came up earlier though, so I wouldn’t know about the result until tomorrow. I'm not the type to be so confident, I know you know that, but… I think I can at least say that the test was easier than I thought.  Again, sorry for repeating this too many times, but thank you, thank you so much for everything.

 

\--

 

And so eight hours has passed.


End file.
